Big Government, Bad Journalism

posted at 5:45 pm on June 26, 2010 by Doctor Zero

Just the other day, I was discussing the challenge of maintaining cordial relationships in a highly politicized society with a friend of mine. When politics have infused every aspect of our lives, right down to the menus at fast-food restaurants, our political opinions are often interpreted as judgments of character. The conservative sees a diehard Obama supporter as an accomplice to tyranny, while the Obama supporter sees the opponents of socialized medicine as accessories to the murder of the uninsured. No matter which side of the debate you come down on, it’s easy to see that the stakes are high, and participation has become mandatory. The option to stay out of the argument no longer exists, because regardless of your station in life, this vast and activist government is not going to leave you alone.

I found myself thinking along these lines while watching JournoList, the electronic locker room for liberal reporters, collapse beneath the weight of Dave Weigel’s spleen.

Weigel has spent the last few months working as an observer of the conservative movement for the Washington Post, whose readers must wonder about the identity of the vast Tea Party crowds occasionally blocking their view of the IRS building. As it turns out, Weigel really hates the people he’s been covering, and sees himself precisely the way conservatives see most dinosaur-media reporters: as a partisan operative of the Democrat Party. He expressed his hatred, and loyalties, in a series of communications posted to JournoList. These emails became an embarrassing burst of digital flatulence when they were made public. Weigel is out of a job at theWashington Post, and JournoList is gone.

Blogger Ace of Spades wonders why the Post couldn’t find a sympathetic correspondent to cover the “conservative beat,” and answers his own question by pointing out the Post has no interest in publishing material that might lead its readers to begin grooving to that conservative beat. The last thing they want is for their right-wing avatar to come back with a horde of angry natives behind him and lead a successful insurrection.

Here we cross the line between editorial decisions and bias. Why would an unbiased newspaper be afraid to honestly report news that makes one side of a political debate look appealing, instead assigning a reporter to highlight fringe material to cast them in the most negative light possible? Of course, they are biased, but it’s even worse than that. They’re subjective. They pretend to be commentators, but they’re actually players in the game… just like everyone else. Our fates are all controlled by the immense central government worshipped by the Post. They have a vested interest in ensuring its sustained growth, so they can make their fortune writing epic tales of its heroic deeds.

Big Government makes for bad journalism. As I like to point out whenever someone like David Frum gushes over “moderates,” there is no meaningful way to be moderate when a carnivorous super-State is chowing down on huge portions of the private sector, while dismissing bedrock Constitutional rights with an irritated wave of its hand. You either resist the onslaught of the State with all your might, or bear passive witness to its expansion.

At this moment in American history, there is no functional difference between a genuine “centrist” and Dave Weigel’s right-wing “ratf**kers.” If you think you should be allowed to keep your own medical insurance, and see your own doctor, you’re taking an extreme partisan stance. If you don’t think the government should be able to revoke the First Amendment or due process rights of private corporations at its convenience, you are a declared enemy of the State.

For the same reason, journalists can only make the thinnest pretense of objectivity when covering the super-State. Merely reporting honestly on its past and current activities would qualify a journalist for associate membership in the Ratf**ker Pack. As my Green Room colleague Karl points out, some of Weigel’s most intellectually offensive emails concerned the kind of organized narrative manipulation that appears to have been the true purpose of JournoList all along. In the immense political struggle now under way, there is no room on the sidelines.

Mainstream media figures want to pose as friendly partners in an intelligent conversation, but the size and power of the government they cover makes it impossible to analyze dispassionately. In their hearts, journalists really hate the idea of seeing that exciting mega-government torn down, or they believe it’s impossible to do so. That’s why they see the new breed of aggressive, Tea Party-endorsed Republicans as either enemies or lunatics. It doesn’t help that they’re well aware of ongoing statist efforts to control or subsidize the media. Even those reporters who aren’t True Believers are reluctant to earn a spot on the enemies list of an eternally triumphant statist elite.

It’s striking how much venom Dave Weigel directed at people who never insulted him personally. In the pressure cooker of an overwhelming, and collapsing, centralized government, the personal and political are fused into a single identity. Asking uncomfortable questions is an act of rebellion, and effective resistance to the will of the elite is a declaration of war. Media operatives, who eat and drink politics with every meal, are just a little further down the spiral of bitterness and desperation that awaits us all.

Blowback

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Hannity said it best when he said journalism died in 2008. I often wonder how many “journalists” will still be working in the industry after the collapse of the current American Socialism. I can’t picture Keith Olbermann working anywhere in the industry after selling his sell to spout his daily propaganda……..

As it turns out, Weigel really hates the people he’s been covering, and sees himself precisely the way conservatives see most dinosaur-media reporters: as a partisan operative of the Democrat Party.

You’re obviously completely unfamiliar with anything Wiegel has ever written. No one would describe him as a liberal democrat or an anything democrat. He wrote numerous sympathetic things about the Tea Party. It was the demagogues and hypocrites trying to hijack the movement he couldn’t stand.

But I guess in today’s hyper-partisan society, if you’re not completely loyal to the Tea Party, you’re a flaming liberal.

I continually make the claim that ‘news’ isn’t news and hasn’t been for a long time; it has become propaganda intended to persuade the audience to accept a point of view.

Only reluctantly do I accept the idea that it NEVER has been news. Though I bitterly cling to the faint hope that there are a few honest men in the media.

Perhaps it should be required of all journalists that at the beginning of every piece there is the disclaimer that ‘these are the facts as I see them, as I know them, and the conclusion I have drawn are my own opinion, or a recitation of an opinion suggested to me’. Which presumes that what follows the disclaimer is honest.

You’re obviously completely unfamiliar with anything Wiegel has ever written. No one would describe him as a liberal democrat or an anything democrat. He wrote numerous sympathetic things about the Tea Party. It was the demagogues and hypocrites trying to hijack the movement he couldn’t stand.

But I guess in today’s hyper-partisan society, if you’re not completely loyal to the Tea Party, you’re a flaming liberal.

In other posts, Weigel describes conservatives as using the media to “violently, angrily divide America.” According to Weigel, their motives include “racism” and protecting “white privilege,” and for some of the top conservatives in D.C., a nihilistic thirst for power.

diehard Obama supporter as an accomplice to tyranny, while the Obama supporter sees the opponents of socialized medicine as accessories to the murder of the uninsured.
==========================================================
The ObamaVoterBot Indoctrinated in Social Justice and all
the Lefty brainwashing that they are!!!!!!!

No matter which side of the debate you come down on, it’s easy to see that the stakes are high, and participation has become mandatory. The option to stay out of the argument no longer exists, because regardless of your station in life, this vast and activist government is not going to leave you alone
============================
BINGO,remember November,and 2012 is on the horizon!

And dead on,Community Organizing Do-Gooder Bleed’n
Hearts are look’n for ways to control every aspect of
ones life!!

In two days,another Liberal Progressive,Elena Kagan will
be,if confirmed,in position,to carry on Obama’s agenda,
and is nothing more than a mirrored image of what Obama
stands for,and it will extend for decades to come!!!!

Blogger Ace of Spades wonders why the Post couldn’t find a sympathetic correspondent to cover the “conservative beat,”
=======================================================
Good point,especially when Liberals like this are agenda
driven,and the plan even goes higher up into the manage
ment of!
========

Hack: Confessions of a Presidential Campaign Reporter
By Michael Hastings October 2008

Here we cross the line between editorial decisions and bias. Why would an unbiased newspaper be afraid to honestly report news that makes one side of a political debate look appealing, instead assigning a reporter to highlight fringe material to cast them in the most negative light possible?
===============================

Yuppers,how about side”A”,and side”B”,the facts,the truth,
and let both sides of the political spectrum,draw their own
conclusions!!

I’m convinced that the only way to stop big government is to get power back in the hands of the states where it belongs. If California wants to fund the healthcare and education for illegals so be it. If they want to let everyone retire at 45 and get a pension of 150% of pay for the rest of their life–more power to them. Of course they’ll have to fend for themselves once it all comes crashing down around them. They won’t be able to get money from me to bail them out.

What I really don’t understand is why the state legislatures don’t step up to the plate and grab back the power. I always thought that is what politicians wanted. I guess they want to be able to make stupid choices and have the safety net of the rest of American taxpayers backing them.

Absolutely no cable or any other TV than broadcast and absolutely no network news garbage. Indoctrination was so aggravating for me that I had to go cold turkey on the media statists on November 5, 2008.

At this moment in American history, there is no functional difference between a genuine “centrist” and Dave Weigel’s right-wing “ratf**kers.” If you think you should be allowed to keep your own medical insurance, and see your own doctor, you’re taking an extreme partisan stance. If you don’t think the government should be able to revoke the First Amendment or due process rights of private corporations at its convenience, you are a declared enemy of the State.
====================================

No matter which side of the debate you come down on, it’s easy to see that the stakes are high, and participation has become mandatory. The option to stay out of the argument no longer exists, because regardless of your station in life, this vast and activist government is not going to leave you alone.

That’s why they see the new breed of aggressive, Tea Party-endorsed Republicans as either enemies or lunatics. It doesn’t help that they’re well aware of ongoing statist efforts to control or subsidize the media. Even those reporters who aren’t True Believers are reluctant to earn a spot on the enemies list of an eternally triumphant statist elite.
===========================================
Tea Party Patriots,who’s allegiance is to the Flag,Lady
Liberty,America,and not worshipping a political party,like
the Liberals do, are cast as subversives!

No wonder Bipartisanship was killed off by Team Democrat,
it was,and is, a threat to their agenda!!

It’s striking how much venom Dave Weigel directed at people who never insulted him personally. In the pressure cooker of an overwhelming, and collapsing, centralized government, the personal and political are fused into a single identity. Asking uncomfortable questions is an act of rebellion, and effective resistance to the will of the elite is a declaration of war. Media operatives, who eat and drink politics with every meal, are just a little further down the spiral of bitterness and desperation that awaits us all.
===========================================

…Joe “Bite-Me” Biden traveled to Wisconsin yesterday to campaign with far left Progressive Russ Feingold (D-WI). Smokin Joe ordered a custard at a popular custard stand in Glendale during one of their stops. When Biden asked Kopp’s Frozen Custard stand owner how much he owed him, the owner responded,

First off, re: television: I had my cable disconnected back in March, and I haven’t missed it. I quit watching television news about fifteen years ago; lately, there wasn’t enough other interesting material to justify the expense. And I don’t pick up broadcast, either – the only time the TV is turned on is if I want to watch a DVD.

Second, re: journalism: Journalism did not die in 2008, as a previous commenter claimed. No, it died much earlier than that. I used to subscribe to two daily newspapers as well as the three newsweeklies – Time, Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report. I dumped all of them before I moved to Texas, back in ’87. From what I have seen quoted on the net, there is no difference between the so-called “mainstream media” and Democratic Party press releases. Subscribers to the MSM should be filing lawsuits on the basis of fraud and misrepresentation. Remember, “Izvestia nye Pravda, y Pravda nye Izvestia”.

More to the point of this thread… The guy in the cubicle next to mine reads the main Philly paper every day. Pretty much every time he shows me an article, I find an obvious mistake or blatant bias to point out to him.
-
I told him a number of times that reading the paper rots the brain… His comeback is ‘don’t believe everything you read on the web‘… Well duhhh… But at least I get to look past the single source, and have my questions about things answered… or not. He on the other hand just sucks of the poor reporting as gospel.

You’re obviously completely unfamiliar with anything Wiegel has ever written. No one would describe him as a liberal democrat or an anything democrat. He wrote numerous sympathetic things about the Tea Party. It was the demagogues and hypocrites trying to hijack the movement he couldn’t stand.

For 6 months I read his tweets on twitter which were just like the Journolist excerpts, and I kept saying why was this liberal given the job of writing about conservatives? And I’d usually get a tweet from some friend of his telling me Weigel isn’t a liberal, he’s a libertarian, he used to write for Reason! Look, I’ve been in and out of the libertarian movement since the 70s – I know a libertarian when I see one. He waddles and quacks like a liberal.

It’s striking how much venom Dave Weigel directed at people who never insulted him personally.

Amen,Dr.Zero,another masterpiece!!

canopfor on June 26, 2010 at 7:21 PM

You must both understand that their very existence was highly insulting to Dave. And that they were having a great deal of success in rallying the American public against the Realm was, for him, almost unbearable. All in all, under such circumstance, his mental break was probably inevitable.

Biden later jokingly called the manager a “smart-ass,” telling him, “Why don’t you say something nice?”

…So when a legal,American, tax paying citizen “dares” to ask an elected official to lower his taxes..like they promised…..”Bite-me” not only ignores him…but later makes derogatory statements about him….

If this doesn’t get to you, then check your pulse. You may be a flat line…

Should you want to verify this, go to http://www.thomas.gov/, enter “HR 3590″ in the search box and look for “CRS Summaries.” This is what you’ll find.

Title IX Revenue Provisions—Subtitle A: Revenue Offset “(Sec. 9002) Requires employers to include in the W-2 form of each employee the aggregate cost of applicable employer-sponsored group health coverage that is excludable from the employee’s gross income (excluding the value of contributions to flexible spending arrangements).”

Starting in 2011—next year—the W-2 tax form sent by your employer will be increased to show the value of whatever health insurance you are provided. It doesn’t matter if you’re retired. Your gross income WILL go up by the amount of insurance your employer paid for. So you’ll be required to pay taxes on a larger sum of money that you actually received. Take the tax form you just finished for 2009 and see what $15,000.00 or $20,000.00 additional gross income does to your tax debt. That’s what you’ll pay next year. For many it puts you into a much higher bracket. This is how the government is going to buy insurance for fifteen (15) percent that don’t have insurance and it’s only part of the tax increases, but it’s not really a “tax increase” as such, it a redefinition of your taxable income.

Also, go to Kiplinger’s and read about the thirteen (13) tax changes for 2010 that could affect you.

People have the right to know the truth because an election is coming in November. So vote intelligently, based on your values. But also adjust your tax withholding, or increase your savings, so that you aren’t surprised and put in a jam when your federal income taxes are due on April 15, 2012.

Nice essay, but most of them are just passionate dems. They are not afraid to report honestly, they simply don’t want to. The dems infiltrated the media very thoroughly as former staffers become “journalists” or Mario Cuomo’s son becomes a “journalist” or Mika becomes a “reporter” or the marry big dems and sleep with the party losing any objectivity…Carville and Matlin are an extreme rarity.

canopfor on June 26, 2010 at 7:21 PM
———————
You must both understand that their very existence was highly insulting to Dave. And that they were having a great deal of success in rallying the American public against the Realm was, for him, almost unbearable. All in all, under such circumstance, his mental break was probably inevitable.

Up until recent history, most Conservatives had no problems with maintaining a civilized discussion with a Liberal regarding our differences. It is sad but true, as DZ pointed out, this is no longer an option today. For me in my lifetime this angst began sprouting around the Carter era, and has completely blossomed with the Obama era. I believe the real problem lies in the point RalphBoy was making by pointing out to his co-worker that there were blatant errors, and bias in the stories being read. We on the Conservative side of things have a strong affinity for the the Truth, and are the ones who are truly the most unbiased. Our frustrations in finding both blatant lies, and overwhelming bias have been magnified by the constant attacks on both our character, and our intelligence. We are constantly being bashed and beaten by either the media, or the Regime. It never, never ends.

This is what brings us to the point of becoming so angry, this constant bashing about upon everything we hold dear. I wish I had a dollar for every time someone asked why it was that no one wants to apply some common sense in examining what is taking place by “Big Government” squashing our freedoms. In all seriousness, it should not take a rocket scientist, nor a columnist for the Post to figure this out. What the hell are these people thinking? And therein lies the rub no? It all ends up as the proverbial dog chasing it’s tail, and there is never a solution found. We are busy shouting at each other, chaos is created, and somewhere in the White House someone is smiling. Goal achieved.

What does one do to discuss things in a calm and civilized manner these days? So far I have managed to do so, but to be quite honest, I have a lot of fear, frustration, and at times loss of hope for this country that I love, and I really get agitated when someone else cannot focus in on reality, the Truth, or relate to my angst. It seems there is also more at stake for Conservatives when these discussions are going on. For myself, I fear for my children, my aging parents, and my sister and her husband who have three tiny ones. It is as if we are under siege, and there are zombies out there not wanting to help defeat the enemy. How can they be so blind? Hence the lack of cordial conversations.

What I really don’t understand is why the state legislatures don’t step up to the plate and grab back the power. I always thought that is what politicians wanted. I guess they want to be able to make stupid choices and have the safety net of the rest of American taxpayers backing them.

ReaganWasRight on June 26, 2010 at 6:56 PM

In my state we tried very hard to put in place various law enforcing the 10th Amendment. It failed because of those in the majority at the moment. I would remind you that George Soros began a plan right after the 2000 elections which basically would put into place as many governors, secretaries of state, attorney generals, and if possible as many state legislators as the left wing groups like the SEIU and ACORN could put in state governments. In other words, what we are fighting in D.C. is replicated in some states when it comes to state legislatures trying to regain their power as you suggested, and to place stronger buffers between Washington and the states. I believe the 35 or so states which have joined together in fighting the health care bill is just one of many examples where states are trying to take more control.

Interesting parallel between the Weigel debacle and the Global Warming emails exposed last year.

We get a peek behind the scenes of those who are supposed to just say it straight (scientist = journalist) and come to find out that they have an agenda and are working hard to deceive us and act on it.

Here are his writings at Reason, where he frequently laid into Democrats and correctly predicted that Obama would be an utter shill for the unions. If you look through his “Right Now” RSS feed, you’ll find positive stories on Chris Christie and the Pauls. Here is his Washington Independent stuff, which was basically “Right Now”. The guy’s political philosophy is libertarian.

When the government owns the MSM, as it has for years, then the exploitation of the ignorance of the lemmings becomes a tool that puts our values and freedoms in grave jeopardy. That is why liberals are trying to pass 1)Fairness Doctrine and 2) gain control of the internet in order to stifle any dissent whatsoever. This is why Facism and/or Communism cannot exist without doing this. If this happens, the Constitution ceases to exist and enslavement of the populace begins. The process is being put into place to accomplish this. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Rather self-defeating, that sort of strategy is, in my personal opinion.

We have Dish Network, which gives us the option to watch what we select to watch. My viewing has more impact via my selections currently since I have options.

If I eliminate the options, then the impact of selectively not watching CNN or MSNBC and other such cable stations is rendered useless and pointless.

Those cable stations, like network TV, rely heavily on advertising dollars, and the rate charged for advertising relies heavily on viewership numbers. When we’re canvassed regarding TV or cable viewing selections, the bottom line numbers determine what each cable or TV network can reasonably charge for advertising.

By cancelling everything like you did, jeff_from_mpls, you cancel your own voice in contributing to the demise of substandard television and/or cable channel programming.

Me? I’d rather have the options and the ability to have a direct impact as a potential viewer. Just like I have the option of doing my food shopping at Manny & Mindy’s corner grocery store or the Super Duper Market down the road, based on quality and freshness of their food and their service. If there’s only one market, it’s not really a choice at all, but reduced to necessity via limitation.

“Conservatives” like Weigel, Frum, Brooks, and the like are the same personality types as agnostics who argue with atheists. They’re really Believers, but they couch themselves as agnostic because they think it makes them smarter and gives them an advantage in a debate.

Weigel’s attitude towards conservatives should not come as any surprise to anyone who has been exposed to liberals and their thought processes. Or what passes as thought.

It’s really very simple and it’s something all conservatives need to recognize and always keep in mind when dealing with a liberal: Liberals hate conservatives. They hate you. They hate you with the passion of a thousand suns. They think you are Evil with a capital E. They think you are stupid. They think you are dangerous. They think you are a threat to the existence of civilization.

Oh, yeah, liberals get very upset and indignant when they are accused of hate. That’s because everything a liberal believes is true, and if it’s true it cannot be considered hate. Don’t let their lack of self awareness fool you.
They hate you.

Asking uncomfortable questions is an act of rebellion, and effective resistance to the will of the elite is a declaration of war.

Um, indeed. As I am a contrarian, and am anti-political-party in all things, I am continuously confronted by that on both right-wing and left-wing blogs.

I appreciated G.W. Bush’s expanded authoritarian “executive” about as much as I appreciate Obama’s neo-marxist dictatorship–both Presidents have undermined and destroyed our Constitution with a vengeance.

Illegimate, “pre-emptive” war contains the seeds of the most insidious destruction of all–to the treasury, to the Constitution, to the health of the state overall. So, when are “conservatives” going to admit their own culpability in maintaining elitist constructs?

What Weigel and Company are would be CRIMINALS. The 1st Amendment granting these tools the RIGHT to keep the Govt powers in check is not in their make-up. They decide the meme for the day and they ALL run with it. The most recent example of such is the use of the word BRILLIANT when talking about Obama’s acceptance of McCrystals resignation. Rush ran a montage of ALL of them and the word of the day was BRILLIANT. There is not a NewsBusters site for no reason, they set up to EXPOSE the CRIMINAL ACTIONS of the 4th Estate who truly are the Media wing of the Democrat Party.

There is no doubt in my mind that the 20% who call themselves liberal would be destroying this Country at this time if NOT for the 95% in the 4th Estate who are liberal themselves. If they did the true work of a FREE media Democrats would NEVER be elected to run even a gas station.

(1) The President is now claiming, and is aggressively exercising, the right to use any and all war powers against American citizens even within the United States, and he insists that neither Congress nor the courts can do anything to stop him or even restrict him.

(2) This scandal is not about liberalism or conservatism, but is about core American political values.

We’ve had 10 years now of the “unitary executive” proponents of government. Do we have a constitution left? I’m not sure.

“I am for a government rigorously frugal and simple, applying all the possible savings of the public revenue to the discharge of the national debt; and not for a multiplication of officers and salaries merely to make partisans.”
-Thomas Jefferson

Bush went to the Congress and asked for the authorization to use force and they gave it to him and the Supreme Court didn’t countermand it. You may not like it, but all three branches approved of the action, “pre-emptive” or not, so it’s hard for me to see how it was “unconstitutional” or anything like that. You might have a point if you were claiming that authorization to use force is weaker than a declaration of war, but I doubt that’s what you were getting at.

And to bolster your pseudo argument, you rummage around in the cellar at Huffpo and come up with a vintage 2006 Glen Greenwald whine? Weak.

As it turns out, Weigel really hates the people he’s been covering, and sees himself precisely the way conservatives see most dinosaur-media reporters: as a partisan operative of the Democrat Party. He expressed his hatred, and loyalties, in a series of communications posted to JournoList.

Yeah, no kidding.

The editiorial attempt at retort with washing Weigel out is pathetic, by the way: “we have standards — we had no idea — suddenly, from the page, how could we have known…”

None of that is remotely credible. The editorial position of WaPo is as Leftwing as is Weigel. It’s always entertaining, though, to watch Liberals try to distance themselves from themselves, when they ‘sense’ someone’s bleeding popularity.

And to bolster your pseudo argument, you rummage around in the cellar at Huffpo and come up with a vintage 2006 Glen Greenwald whine? Weak.

shazbat on June 27, 2010 at 4:20 PM

Yes, shazbat, the Left (tries to) hype HuffPo on nearly all popular websites where they can squeeze in a mention in comments to that site.

I was searching a news theme yesterday and found myself at one link to HuffPo for an issue, and then tried to (again) read that site and the place nearly made me nauseated. Seriously. The comments are fraught with the nasty, sarcastic, destructive negativity about just about anyone who isn’t Top Tier Democrat Hotness — with the far ugliest aimed at the predictable Christian religious and Conservatives (by name, specifically) — and it was, literally, nauseating to even try to read through a page or two of comments there.

Big Government makes for bad journalism. As I like to point out whenever someone like David Frum gushes over “moderates,” there is no meaningful way to be moderate when a carnivorous super-State is chowing down on huge portions of the private sector, while dismissing bedrock Constitutional rights with an irritated wave of its hand. You either resist the onslaught of the State with all your might, or bear passive witness to its expansion.

At this moment in American history, there is no functional difference between a genuine “centrist” and Dave Weigel’s right-wing “ratf**kers.” If you think you should be allowed to keep your own medical insurance, and see your own doctor, you’re taking an extreme partisan stance. If you don’t think the government should be able to revoke the First Amendment or due process rights of private corporations at its convenience, you are a declared enemy of the State.

For the same reason, journalists can only make the thinnest pretense of objectivity when covering the super-State. Merely reporting honestly on its past and current activities would qualify a journalist for associate membership in the Ratf**ker Pack. As my Green Room colleague Karl points out, some of Weigel’s most intellectually offensive emails concerned the kind of organized narrative manipulation that appears to have been the true purpose of JournoList all along. In the immense political struggle now under way, there is no room on the sidelines.

SPEAKING OF WHICH — off-topic here for a moment but this readily comes to mind after reading your post here — Democrat (CA) Senator, Leftwinger Dianne Feinstein is harping on media today about how nominee Elena Kagan is “moderate”…

This is yet again another example of the Left (in this case, Feinstein) claiming that it’s “moderate” to be a judicial activist among other political goals for the judiciary.

As my Green Room colleague Karl points out, some of Weigel’s most intellectually offensive emails concerned the kind of organized narrative manipulation that appears to have been the true purpose of JournoList all along.

You’re no idea about Journolist or it’s “true purpose.”
You’re just blowing gas with that comment.
A chat room isn’t a secret conspiracy. Get a grip on yourself and let loose of your own “special purpose”